FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing November Class 8 truck net orders at 19,683 units, 14 percent below October and down 3 percent year-over-year. However, November was still the second highest month for orders since March and annualize to 236,200 units, FTR says. Preliminary order numbers are for all major North American OEMs.
“Order activity slowed in November, which is not normal for this time of the year. However, the current order levels reaffirm our forecast for next year, which has been at the low end of other industry forecasts,” says Jon Starks, FTR’s director of transportation analysis. “We have been forecasting a sub-240,000 unit production year for 2013 since June of this year and it appears that the market is confirming what we were seeing back then in late spring. There is no big push to get year-end delivery prior to the depreciation expiration on December 31. We need to see stronger orders to finish the year and start 2013 if we want to get more bullish on the market.”
